Healthy Habits To Start in Your Early 20s for a Better Life

Note: This post was originally written in 2021. I have revamped it.

There are some things that everyone should do, regardless of age, such as drinking plenty of water, getting regular checkups, and practicing basic hygiene. However, life throws hardships at us, making it challenging to prioritize ourselves over the issues around us. I find this to be true, especially if you’re in your early 20’s. The early 20s are a prime age because you’re at your healthiest, most energetic, and your brain has fully developed.

Learning to protect your body and mind via living a healthy lifestyle can help you avoid serious health problems like obesity and diabetes, extreme fatigue, and some mental illnesses. Healthy habits like eating nutritious foods, going to the dentist, and regular physical activity can help you manage your weight and increase your energy. Sooner rather than later, starting these healthier habits will feel like part of your daily routine, not a chore.

Figuring out which healthy habits to have in your 20s varies from person to person. It depends on how you incorporate them into your daily routine and how often you practice them.

Why Is It Important To Live A Healthy Lifestyle Throughout Your 20s

Your 20s are also the years when many people first begin balancing work, relationships, finances, and personal responsibilities. Without healthy routines, it can be easy to fall into patterns of burnout, stress, poor eating habits, and neglect of your overall well-being. Creating healthy habits early helps you build stability and structure during a time that can often feel overwhelming or uncertain.

Your 20s are also a time of self-discovery. The habits you create now often follow you into your 30s and beyond. Learning how to prioritize yourself, set boundaries, manage stress, and care for your body can positively impact every area of your life, including your confidence, productivity, relationships, and emotional well-being.

Most importantly, building a healthy lifestyle in your 20s teaches you that taking care of yourself is an investment, not a punishment. The small choices you make today can lead to a stronger, healthier, and more balanced future.

Healthy Lifestyle Practices Every 20-Something Needs

Do A Social Media Detox

Have you ever scrolled on Facebook for hours and felt crappy? I have. That’s why it’s essential to do a social media detox. Taking a break from social media has proven to help people deal with stress, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. In addition, detoxing from social media allows us to take time to rid ourselves of online negativity. It’s also a great way to find time to refocus on yourself and reconnect with what makes you happy.

You also begin to realize how much social media can affect your mood without you even noticing. Seeing unrealistic lifestyles, constant bad news, or endless productivity content can leave you feeling emotionally drained. Taking intentional breaks allows your mind to slow down and reset. Studies have shown that increased use of social media is more likely to lead to depression, psychotic disorders, and other severe mental illnesses. Social media usage and mental health are also often linked to the rising percentages of young women suffering from ED and other ailments.

A social media detox does not mean you have to disappear from the internet forever. Sometimes it can be as simple as setting screen time limits, unfollowing accounts that negatively affect your mental health, or taking one day a week completely offline.

Go to Bed Earlier

Getting a good night’s rest helps your body relax. However, that is more challenging than it looks. Any of us are students, parents, or work late hours, which prevents us from getting adequate rest. This means we must find new ways to rest during the day or limit what we do so we sleep when we’re supposed to. By going to bed earlier, we leave time in the morning to eat breakfast and not snooze the alarm.

Creating a nighttime routine can make it easier to fall asleep and improve the quality of your rest. Simple habits like limiting screen time before bed, reducing caffeine intake late in the day, and keeping a consistent sleep schedule can help your body relax naturally. Even small changes to your routine can improve your energy levels and help you feel more refreshed throughout the day.

Exercise Regularly

Taking care of your physical health is one of the most important things you can do in your 20s, which is why exercising regularly should be a priority. Regular exercise helps reduce your chances of developing serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers later in life.

Exercise is also incredibly beneficial for your mental and emotional well-being. For young adults dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression, staying active can help improve mood, boost confidence, increase energy levels, and support better sleep. It is one of the healthiest ways to relieve stress and clear your mind after a long day.

The good news is that exercise does not have to mean spending hours in the gym every day. Finding movement you genuinely enjoy can make staying active much easier and more sustainable. This can include strength training, walking, yoga, dancing, running, swimming, pilates, or even taking short movement breaks throughout your day.

Building healthy fitness habits in your 20s also creates consistency that can benefit you in the long term. Staying active improves your overall quality of life, supports your physical health as you age, and helps you feel stronger both mentally and physically. Even small amounts of movement each week can make a big difference over time.

Always Practice Mindfulness

Our emotions are everywhere in our 20s, which is why mindfulness is essential. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that focuses on being aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment. Mindfulness helps regulate emotions, relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties, and treat mental illnesses. Practicing mindfulness in your 20s is crucial because it helps you understand what you’re feeling and why, and work through it healthily.

Nowadays, there are so many apps, such as Headspace, Calm, and Finch, that help you practice basic mindfulness. If you’re an Apple user, you can use the built-in journaling app to record your emotions and what’s happened throughout the day. Mindfulness helps you slow down in a world that constantly encourages rushing, overworking, and comparing yourself to others.

Check-In With PCP Once A Year

PCP stands for primary care physician, and you wouldn’t believe how many young people don’t visit their doctor at least once a year. While most people in their 20s are generally healthy, many don’t see their PCP. Going to the hospital or urgent care helps in an emergency, but you benefit more from a long-term relationship with a PCP.

Similarly, regular checkups with your dentist will help you maintain oral health. However, too many people (of all ages) ignore the benefits of dental care, but speaking to your dentist means you can discover how to take better care of your teeth and even find solutions for any oral health issues, such as dental veneers or implants.  

Eat Healthier

Eating healthy is good for the body and mind. There are many benefits to eating healthier, which include increased happiness, reduced risk of mental illness, and lower mortality. There are many ways you can practice and start eating healthier. For example,

• Swap out junk food for fruit when you need a snack
• When cooking, use Canola or Olive Oil instead of Corn Oil.
• Increase your daily vegetable intake.
• Make sure you’re eating enough calories during the day.
• Not eating after 8:00 p.m.

While these may seem small, each little action goes towards improving your overall health.

Learn How to Enjoy Being Alone

As an older person in their late 20s, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of learning how to spend time with yourself and enjoy it. There comes a point when you genuinely start to hate being in the presence of others. It’s not because you’re becoming a psycho or antisocial. It’s a development milestone of being in your 20s. As you get older, you start to respect the importance of protecting your personal space and energy by giving yourself time to sit with yourself without others’ input.

Sometimes, we must be left alone; the pandemic forced us to do just that. pending time with yourself has the same healthy benefits as socializing with friends, yet it is often not discussed. Sometimes, we need to take time off to be alone to think about who we want to be, what we strive for, and where we see ourselves in the future. Being alone teaches independence and helps with time management. Some believe that time spent alone increases happiness, lessens stress, and improves life satisfaction.

Cook at Home

Stop ordering food out. It increases your daily calorie intake and increases your weight. When cooking at home, you control how many calories you intake and how much you eat. Eating healthy is important because it affects your mood and physical health. Healthy eating leads to a healthier lifestyle and decreases your chances of developing obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure later in life. our back, hips, waistline, bank account, and butt will be grateful later.

Cooking more meals at home can also help you build a healthier relationship with food overall. When you prepare your own meals, you become more mindful of the ingredients you use, portion sizes, and how different foods affect your body. It can also save you a significant amount of money over time, especially in your 20s when budgeting and financial stability are important. Eating healthy does not have to mean strict dieting or cutting out your favorite foods completely. It is about creating balanced habits that help you feel energized, nourished, and physically well in your everyday life.

Get Tested For STIs Often

Too many sexually active adults participate in sex without even knowing if they or their partner has an active STI. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2024, the United States had 2.2 million reported cases of people with STIs, including Gonorrhea, Herpes, Chlamydia, and even Syphilis. Honestly, this is so sad considering some of these STI’s are completely preventable with a simple screening. However, there is still so much stigma around the conversation of sex and STIs that it makes it difficult for people to seek necessary treatment.

If you’re sexually active, you should protect yourself and others by getting tested for STDs and other sexually transmitted diseases. STDs can be passed on from one person to another during oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse. condom use is always advised, 100% of the time, and getting tested for STDs regularly. Some people with STDs don’t experience symptoms or don’t realize that they have an STD, which means they can easily infect their partners. Most STDs are curable with the proper medication, so discussing your sexual history with your doctor is essential. Getting tested is a crucial part of your overall sexual health.

Limit Drinking and Smoking

Your 20s are often filled with social events, parties, and nights out, which can make excessive drinking and smoking feel normal. However, creating healthier boundaries with these habits early on can have a major impact on your long-term health and overall well-being. Limiting alcohol and smoking can improve your energy levels, sleep quality, mental clarity, and even your mood. It can also help you save money and avoid developing unhealthy coping mechanisms during stressful periods of life. You do not have to completely isolate yourself socially to make healthier choices. Learning moderation and being mindful of your habits can help you maintain balance while still enjoying your 20s.

Drink Water

Drinking water keeps you hydrated and helps clear toxins from your body day and night. Drinking water has many health benefits, including improved heart health, weight loss, and even clearer skin. Oh, if you’re looking for healthy habits in your 20s, drinking water must be one of them. It’s also one of the most accessible forms of self-care you can practice.

Many people underestimate how important hydration is for their overall health. However, making a conscious effort to drink more water daily is one of the simplest ways to support your body and feel better physically. Carrying a reusable water bottle, adding fruit for flavor, or setting hydration reminders can make drinking water feel like a more consistent and easier habit.

Other Things To Do As You Get Older

As we journey through our 20s and transition into adulthood, it becomes increasingly important to establish healthy habits that can positively impact our well-being as we get older. Incorporating these habits into our daily lives can contribute to long-term physical and mental health. Exercises such as cardiovascular activities, strength training, or practicing yoga can help maintain muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, and overall mobility. Prioritizing a balanced diet that includes nutrient-dense foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and adequate hydration can support optimal physical health and provide essential nutrients.